(Photo: Richard Perry/The New York Times)
While I was in Austin this past weekend, my friend Bonnie went to BAM to see the new Ernest Shackleton tale, "69°S." Here's her review:
"The story concerns Shackleton’s Antarctic exploration in 1914. His ship, the Endurance, sank and the story concerns their struggle to survive: the stranding of the men on an ice flow, the long venture in a small boat to find help, the heroic rescue of the men in 1916, with no loss of life.
The sets and costumes all shared the same striking color palette of white, black and red. At the opening, four red ropes hung from the ceiling. Three were raised, becoming white transparent icebergs; the fourth remained coiled on the floor, later turning into the warm fire around which the explorers gathered. Images of gradually cracking ice were projected onto the white stage floor; lodged at the side of the stage was the black skeleton of the Endurance.
The most striking – and conspicuous – aspect of the production was that the characters were all portrayed by 3-foot high puppets, courtesy of the NYC-based Phantom Limb Company. The marionettes were created by longtime NYC musician Erik Sanko and Jessica Grindstaff, an installation artist, painter and set designer. The puppet-masters all walked on stilts, dressed in beautiful long white gowns with transparent pod-like hoods (designed by threeASFOUR.)
Sanko also contributed the musical score, performing it live with his band, Skeleton Key, while the Kronos Quartet joined in on a pre-recorded performance. The thunderous drumming and bowed guitars effectively conveyed the ominous weather, while the recorded strings added an elegant aural texture. Although the stilts audibly creaked as the puppetteers walked across stage, the momentary distraction hardly detracted from the overall experience, which was a visual and sonic delight."